SILVER SPRING, Maryland — Today should have been a day of relief and hope for so many men, women and children whose access to protection continues to be denied. However, on Friday, a federal district judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction in Arizona v. CDC, temporarily blocking the Biden administration from terminating the Title 42 expulsion policy.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., or CLINIC, and its affiliates have been consistent and clear. The United States must be a place of welcome for those seeking asylum, not just because it is who we are as a people, but because it is the law.

“Title 42 was never about public health. Vulnerable men, women and children are paying the price for a policy based on racism, xenophobia and the politicization of human life,” said CLINIC Executive Director Anna Gallagher. “Since March 2020, immigration officials have used Title 42 to unjustly and illegally expel nearly 1.8 million migrants and asylum seekers. We support the Biden administration’s efforts to appeal the decision. We urge the administration and lawmakers to take swift meaningful action to end this policy, respect our national and international obligations under the law and to finally welcome the men, women and children who seek protection at our borders.”

“The continuation of Title 42 will force already vulnerable people to continue living without water, in makeshift houses, overcrowded shelters, while also struggling to keep safe from organized crime and rogue government officials, without recourse,” said CLINIC Project Attorney Tania Guerrero. “Title 42 is not a matter of policy; it has real life or death consequences for the communities and the people that we serve.”